Apartheid in South Africa and how it ended

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D, all summaries in our words, written today. Card A (US State Department, Office of the Historian): White minority rule ended because of several causes: years of internal protest, weakening white commitment, international economic and cultural sanctions, economic struggles and the end of the Cold War. Apartheid ended in steps in the early 1990s, leading to a democratic government in 1994. Card B (pressure from outside): The United Nations led the call for sanctions against South Africa's government. In 1986 the US Congress passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act. Card C (steps inside): The ANC and PAC had been outlawed in 1960. In February 1990 President F. W. de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and released political prisoners. Nelson Mandela, sentenced to life in 1964, left prison on February 11, 1990. Card D (1993 and 1994): In 1993 the Nobel Peace Prize went to Mandela and de Klerk for their work for the peaceful end of the apartheid regime and for laying the foundations of a new democratic South Africa. The first democratic elections were held on April 27, 1994, and the ANC won about 62 percent. Mandela was inaugurated on May 10, 1994, as the first Black president, with de Klerk as a deputy.

2. 1.

   Card A comes from the US State Department's Office of the Historian. Ari asks what that origin suggests about card A.

   • It is a US government historian's view, so check it against South African sources
   • It is a neutral list, since government historians have no stake in how it is told
   • It was written in the 1980s, so it shows how outsiders saw apartheid at the time
   • It shows the US caused the end, since the US government wrote it
3. 2.

   Card A lists five causes without ranking them. Bo asks what a reader can say about their weight.

   • Internal protest mattered most, since lists run from most to least important
   • Nothing from the list alone; ranking needs evidence of each cause's effect
   • Each cause explains one fifth of the change, a fair split of five causes
   • They mattered equally, since the card gives no order and names no cause above another
4. 3.

   Card D reports the Nobel Peace Prize of 1993. Esme asks what the announcement shows.

   • That apartheid had already ended, since the prize praised a new democracy
   • Which man did more to end apartheid, since the prize named them together in one award
   • The committee's view in 1993 of both men's role, not a measure of how apartheid ended
   • That de Klerk freed Mandela in 1993, since the release date is near the prize
5. 4.

   Card B lists pressure from outside and card C steps inside. Jun asks which claim the cards support.

   • De Klerk acted because of the 1986 Act, as card C reports when it describes his steps
   • Both outside pressure and inside steps appear; neither alone is shown as the cause
   • Outside pressure ended apartheid, since the 1986 Act came before the 1990 steps
   • The 1986 Act released political prisoners, as card C reports in describing the first steps
6. 5.

   Card A names the end of the Cold War as a cause. Kira asks what evidence would test that cause.

   • The Nobel Prize of 1993, since it shows the world approved of ending apartheid
   • Mandela's release date, since the Cold War was ending around 1990
   • The date of the 1994 election, since a later date means the Cold War mattered
   • A source linking the Cold War's end to decisions by the government itself
7. 6.

   A student says sanctions alone ended apartheid. What do cards A, B and C answer, Luz asks?

   • Card A lists sanctions among five causes, and card C shows steps inside the country
   • The student is right, since two of the five causes on card A concern sanctions
   • The student is right in part, since sanctions produced each step that card C reports
   • The student is right, since the UN led the call and the US passed a law in 1986
8. 7.

   Cards B and C describe pressure from outside and steps from inside. Milo asks how the two differ in who acted.

   • The 1986 Act came after the 1990 steps, so the Act answered de Klerk's decisions
   • Outside, the UN and Congress acted; inside, de Klerk's government changed its rules
   • Outside, de Klerk's government acted; inside, the US Congress passed the Anti-Apartheid Act
   • Outside, governments acted together; inside, de Klerk acted alone, without his party
9. 8.

   Card C says the ANC and PAC were banned in 1960 and the ban was lifted in 1990. Noah asks what the 30-year span shows.

   • The ban was lifted after Mandela walked free, so his release forced the change
   • Opposition groups were banned for 30 years, so lifting the ban reversed policy
   • It shows protest was weak for 30 years, since banned groups could not act
   • 26 years, the length of Mandela's sentence, since the ban and the sentence ran together
10. 9.

    Apartheid began as law in 1948. The first democratic election was in 1994. Ren asks what cards A to D show about how it ended.

    • It ended in 1986 with the Act, since the later steps merely followed
    • It ended in 1990 when Mandela was released, so the laws lasted 42 years, from 1948 to 1990
    • It ended in steps, from the 1986 Act to the 1994 vote, after 46 years of laws
    • It ended in one event, the 1994 election, since democracy began that day
11. 10.

    Card D says the ANC won about 62 percent in 1994. Zee asks what that figure can and cannot show.

    • 62 percent of the whole population, since voting was open to the whole population in that election
    • That 38 percent opposed ending apartheid, since they voted for other parties
    • That the ANC would govern alone, since it held more than half of the votes in 1994
    • A clear majority of the votes cast, not what voters wanted from the new government